Insectivores - Insectivora - The Animal Encyclopedia

Insectivores - Insectivora - The Animal Encyclopedia Insectivores (Insectivora) are a group of mammals that include hedgehogs, moonrats, shrews, and moles. Insectivores are generally small mammals with nocturnal habits. There are about 365 species of insectivores alive today. Most insectivores have small eyes and ears and a long snout. Some do not have visible ear flaps but have a keen sense of hearing. They have clawed toes on each foot, and the pattern and number of their teeth are rather primitive. Some insectivores such as otter-shrews and moonrats have a long body. Moles have a more cylindrical body, and hedgehogs have a round body. Some insectivores such as tree moles and shrews are adept tree climbers. Insectivores rely more on their sense of smell, hearing, and touch than their vision and some species of shrews can navigate their environment using echolocation. The bones in the inner ear of insectivores are different than other mammals. They lack an ossified temporal bone, and the tympanic membrane is attached to a bony tympanic ring while their middle ear is closed off by surrounding bones. Insectivores live in terrestrial habitats around the world. Additionally, some species of insectivores inhabit aquatic environments while others burrow. Moles spend most of their time below ground in their tunnels they excavate. Shrews generally live above ground and build burrows for shelter and sleeping. Some species live in boggy areas where rotting vegetation, rocks, and rotting logs are common. Other species inhabit arid regions including deserts. Moles and shrews are usually active throughout the year. Hedgehogs are easily recognized by their rotund shape and spines. Their spines consist of tough keratin and serve as a defense mechanism. When threatened, hedgehogs roll into a tight ball so their spines are exposed and their face and belly are protected. Hedgehogs are mostly nocturnal. As their name implies, insectivores feed on insects and other small invertebrates such as spiders and worms. The diet of insectivores is not restricted to invertebrates and also includes a wide variety of plants and animals. Water shrews feed on small fish, amphibians, and crustaceans while hedgehogs feed on birds eggs and small vertebrates. Many species of insectivores locate their prey using their keen sense of smell or by using their sense of touch. The star-nosed mole, for example, not only has a sharp sense of smell, but it also has a nose with many small and touch-sensitive tentacles that enable it to find and capture their prey. Classification Animals Chordates Mammals Insectivores There are four living subgroups of insectivores. These include the hedgehogs, moonrats, and gymnures (Erinaceidae); the shrews (Soricidae); the moles, tree moles and desmans (Talpidae); and the solenodons (Solenodontidae). Insectivores are thought to be most closely related to bats, hoofed mammals, and carnivores. The classification of insectivores is not well understood. Insectivores have a primitive mammalian body plan and are in many ways generic in their appearance. For this reason, insectivores have been classified in several other mammal groups in the past such as the tree shrews or elephant shrews. Additionally, some adaptations insectivores exhibit are convergent with the adaptations of other groups- a fact that further confuses the proper placement of insectivores within the mammals. Previous classification schemes once placed tree shrews and elephant shrews in the insectivores, but today they are classified in their own separate orders. It is possible that other animal groups such as golden moles may be removed from the insectivores as new information comes to light. Evolution Insectivores are considered to be among the most primitive groups of mammals. Some primitive traits insectivores still exhibit include a small brain and testes that do not descend into a scrotum.

Whats a Good 7th Grade ACT

What's a Good 7th Grade ACT / SAT Score SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The SAT / ACT is incredibly important for many students. It's used to determine admissions into talent programs like Duke's TIP or Johns Hopkins CTY. It's also a good predictor of future college potential. But how do you know what a good SAT / ACT score is for someone in middle school? Here, Dr. Fred Zhang does a novel analysis on two data setsto find what is considered a good score for middle school students. The ACT andSAT Are Made for High School Students. What Does This Mean for You? First, a bit of background is needed. The ACT / SAT is primarily used as ahigh schooltest forcollegeadmissions. This means a few things. The SAT is normed at 500 points per section, while the ACT is normed around a 20. Norms are enforced average scores for high school students. Check out these links if you want to know more about what's a good ACT score for a high school student, or what's a good SAT score for a high school student. If you use atable for high school students to examine a middle school student's score, your results will be completely wrong. You need to use a guide, like this one, that is specifically crafted for middle school students. Also, remember that the content on the ACT / SAT is high-school level, including geometry and topics usually tested in US high schools. Therefore, performing badly on these tests in middle school should not be taken as a lack of ability - sometimes it's just the result of never having learned the content. How We Found the Data Few 7th graders take the SAT / ACT, so finding out what's a good or bad score is not as easy as looking at a table of percentiles from the test makers. Instead, we use two unique data sets: the Duke TIP program data set and the John Hopkins CTY data set. (In regards to the new SAT, we came up with these estimates based on data from the old version of the SAT, but we expect them to stay pretty accurate for the new version of the testthat will have its first administrationin March 2016.) These are groups of very talented 7th graders who take the SAT / ACT, so we can't just take the average and distribution of these data sets to look for an average for all 7th graders. Instead, we used a statistical technique called quantile matching / maximum likelihood to infer the distribution of all 7th graders. The two data sets agree, and here arethe results. Results: Distribution of 7th Grade ACT / SAT Scores The average scores of a 7th grade student are lower than those of a high school student. In fact, we find that the scores on the SAT are a full 400points lower, while the scores on the ACT are about 10 points lower. Therefore, the SAT score of the median7th grader is about a 300 per section on the SAT, while the ACT score of the median7th grader is about a 10. A standard deviation in the SAT is around 100 points per section, and is around a 6 on the ACT. This means that the scores translate as follows: Interpretation Percentile ACT Score SAT Score Below Average 25% 4 200 Average 50% 10 300 Above Average 75% 16 400 Excellent 95% 23 500 What this data shows us is that, if you score about an 10 on the ACT or a 300on each section of the SAT (or a 600 with both sections combined), you're getting about the average score for a 7th grader. If you score around a 4on the ACT or a 200for each SAT section, then about three-quarters of other 7th graders would have a higher score than you. What's a Good SAT / ACT Score for a 7th Grader? From the table above, we can conclude that a good SAT / ACT score for 7th graders, a score that beats three-quarters of similar students in the USA, is a 16 on the ACT and an 800on the SAT. However, as I warned above, the SAT / ACT is not intended to evaluate 7th graders, so don't despair if your score is lower than this. You can always boost it later by learning the content and studying more. How Can 7th Graders Prepare for the SAT / ACT? Now that you know what a good standardized test score for a 7th grader is, how can you keep improving your score until it's where you want it to be? We have a lots of guides to help you understand the SAT and ACT. First, you will want to decide if you should start preparing for the SAT or ACT in 7th grade.If you decide to take one of these tests in 7th grade, check outthis guide that explains how 7th graders can begin their test preparation for the SAT or ACT. Practice tests are very important for standardized test prep as well, and we have manyfree and official SAT practice tests and ACT practice tests. You mightalso be interested in preparing forstandardizedtests that students typically take before the SAT and ACT. We have complete guides to both the new PSAT and the ACT Aspire tests. Use these resources and you'll be well on your way to getting a strong score the next time you take the SAT or ACT! What's Next? The college admissions process has become so competitive that it's helpful to plan well in advance for SAT/ACT prep during high school. Here are a few guides to help your thinking: How long before the SAT should you study? Can you start test prep even in middle school? Is it appropriate? Want to score a perfect SAT or ACT score? Read our guide to scoring the maximum SAT score possible, written by our resident perfect scorer. (ACT edition here). Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT and ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160+ points or your ACT score by 4+ points. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today: